1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to novelty clocks, watches, and the like for keeping time at a rate other than human time.
2. Discussion of Background
Watches, clocks, and the like keep track of the passage of time on a human scale, or in terms of human time. Specifically, a day is defined by a single rotation of the earth on its axis; the day is then divided arbitrarily into twenty-four hours. Each hour is divided into minutes, the minutes into seconds. A day, a minute, a second have value to a human being in terms of the lifetime of a man; a week has a greater value than a day; a year, a greater value still. Humans schedule their activities with these values in mind.
Animals, such as dogs, live shorter lives as measured by human time than people. A dog that lives ten years has lived a full life; a man might live 77 years to live a full life. The relationship between the lifetimes of humans and dogs can be related by stating a period of time in "dog years." Two human years is fourteen "dog years." Although this relationship might perhaps be helpful in determining whether a dog or other animal is full grown or not, it does little to help the owner of a pet put the proper value on the animal's time. Various animals have different lifetimes. For example, seahorses and rats live an average of three human years; pigeons live three and one-half years; goldfish and hamsters live five human years; hogs, 9 years; dogs, 11 years; cats, 18 years, beavers, 12 years; lobsters, 15 years; bats, lions, and horses live 20 years; dolphins live 25 years; brown bears live 47 years and polar bears live 33 years; gorillas live 45 years; alligators, 50 years; elephants, 60 years; and giant tortoises, 100 years. All of these have a corresponding multiple to relate to them to human time.